Mark and Mary's Big Adventure Comes to an End

Well, after 14 whirlwind weeks, the big adventure draws to a close.  The trip home went well.  (Well, at least after we got out of the Jersey City/Newark area, where it took us 45 minutes to get past the many detours due to construction and flooding from the hurricane.)  Even the trip through Chicago went smoothly.

So, we're happy to be back home.  We were gone long enough that we have to open several cupboards or drawers to find things.  The house was closed up and smelled like a new house when we got home.  It apparently got so hot here that two cans of shaving cream exploded in the medicine chest.  We picked up Clancy from Mike and Marnee's house.  Unfortunately, he urinated in the cat carrier on the way home, so the first thing we had to do when we got him to our house was to give him a bath in the laundry tub.  Poor kitty -- he hid under the bed for five hours.  But now, two days later, he seems quite at home.

We had a wonderful time with Julia, John, Nancy, Dan and Natalie.  We made the most of our time out in the big city.  What did we miss about Minnesota?  Family, friends, the slower pace, the bike trails, and living in our own home.

More adventures await us:  Dan and Natalie's wedding in Miami; Mary returns to New York City to take care of Dan and Natalie's cats for two weeks while they honeymoon in Europe; Mary's high school friends visit for a long weekend in New York.  After that?  Who knows, but we're looking forward to finding out.

Hurricanes, Earthquakes and Floods -- Oh My!

While we've been out here, Jersey City has experienced 105 degree heat, an earthquake, a hurricane, over 18 inches of rain in the month of August, and flooding.  Certainly a summer to remember.  This video was taken out of our apartment window during the hurricane.  As you can see, our apartment building is set back between two other high rise apartment buildings, which sheltered us from much of the wind.  Our usual view of Manhattan is obscured by the rain.  The Hudson River rose over 6 feet in front over building, lapping on the pedestrian walkway you can see in the foreground.  Thankfully, there was no severe problem in our area from any of the weather or geological events.

Another Birthday in Manhattan

To celebrate my birthday today, we went to Manhattan.  We viewed the progress of the World Trade Center site, walked through Battery Park, and went to the Skyscraper Museum.  This part of Manhattan has been ordered to evacuate in preparation for Hurricane Irene, but you never would have known it today.  Then we hopped on the subway and went up to Nolita, where we ate a late lunch at Rice.  Then we walked over to the Village and stopped to buy a slice of cake for my birthday at Amy's Bread.  I got a slice of carrot cake AND a slice of coconut cake.  Yummy.

Julia Goes to School

Today we took Julia to River School, where she will be going for childcare starting in mid-September.  The school is located just a few blocks away from John and Nancy's house.  There will be 12 children in Julia's "Tiny Tigers" consortium, which starts in September.  After one year, they graduate to the next level.  During the transition session we attended, the children had "circle time" where they sit on the floor with their teachers and sing songs, clap hands, and other activities.  The other children were very welcoming to Julia, bringing her toys to play with.  She sat there quietly, playing with toys and watching all the activity.  They also have some soft climbing toys to help the children with large motor skills.  They said most days they take the children for walks (in multiplex strollers) twice a day.  I think Julia is really going to enjoy being with all the children.  The staff to child ratio in the "Tiny Tigers" section is 1 to 3.

BRAUERPOWER

The Brauer family celebrated Mary's birthday at Dinosaur Bar-B-Que in Harlem.  And we all got new Brauerpower t-shirts, including the newest Brauerpower, Julia.

Old Fashioned in Hip Brooklyn

Mark and I took the subway over to the Carroll Gardens neighborhood in Brooklyn.  This neighborhood is filled with brownstones on tree-lined streets.  The reason we came to this neighborhood was that I had wanted to try an Old Fashioned cocktail, and Mark had done some research on the web that indicated that Prime Meats had some of the best in town.  The cocktails were indeed wonderful, using bitters made from the pear tree in the back yard.  We felt a bit out of place here, though.  I thought I didn't know what a hipster was until I came here:  hipster heaven.  Thankfully we came here at 2:30 in the afternoon, an "off time."  Not only were we old, but we made the mistake of telling our server that we had come all the way from New Jersey to try the Old Fashioned.  Barely containing his look of horror, he said disdainfully:  "Well I hope it lives up to the hype."  sigh.  On the way home, we stopped at Whole Foods in Union Square.  It was a madhouse.  We were swept through the doors by the crowd.  Even after three months, I haven't become accustomed to the crowds that are everywhere.

The 3Ms Bike Staten Island

Mike came to New York to attend Daniel's bachelor party.  On Friday afternoon, Mike, Mark and Mary put bikes on the car and drove over the Bayonne Bridge to Staten Island.  We parked at the nothern point of the island (a mile or so west of St. George) and rode to St. George.  We took the Staten Island Railway down to Tottenville (southern point of island) and then rode our bikes up the eastern shore, about 20 miles of riding.  (Click here to see our route.)  While quite a bit of the ride was on busy streets, we had some stretches of bike path along the ocean.  We rode through many different neighborhoods.  Got back to the car just as a thunderstorm was approaching, and made it all the way back to our Newport neighborhood before the downpour.  It was like driving through a car wash for about 6 blocks.  We parked in the parking garage, which is right behind our building.  But they don't have skyways here, so we hung out in the garage until the rain let up.  It was great to spend the day biking with Mike.

Tutu

Tutu is the Hawaiian term for Grandma.  Julia got a tutu from a friend of Nancy's.  Grandma is goofy.  Thus, tutu in tutu.

Sister Act

Holy Mary

Mark and I went to see Sister Act on Broadway last night with Linda Arnesen, our friend and neighbor from the Brownstones.  It was a great production, with lots of singing and dancing, fantastic staging and costumes, and a lively audience.  Broadway was unbelievably crowded; in addition to the normal crush of tourists, Beyonce was performing a block away and the line was 4-deep, snaking behind barriers for over 4 blocks!

Brownstone Buddies and Barbeque

We met our friend and Brownstones neighbor for dinner at Daisy Mae's Barbecue.  It had been raining all day, and Manhattan was very wet.  But at least it kept the crowds down.  Linda is in town for a housewares show.  It was great to see her and catch up on things.  The food was good, but I like Dinosaur Bar-b-que better.  Luckily, we plan to go to Dinosaur next weekend to celebrate my birthday!

Movie Matinee

Saturday was a rainy day.  We cleaned the apartment and did laundry.  Mark listened to music and I read quite a bit of Dreams from My Father by Barack Obama.  But we're not used to sitting around that much, so we decided to catch a movie matinee at the multiplex over at the Newport Mall, just two blocks from our house.  (One of the things we really like about living here is that we can walk to almost everything we need.)

We decided to see Cowboys and Aliens, starring Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford.  I had seen ads on TV and thought it was going to be a comedy.   Although there were a few humorous lines, it was an action flick, with lots of fights and explosions.  It was a good way to spend a rainy afternoon.  When we got back to the apartment, Mark made some fantastic Thai chicken and broccoli.

An Ivy League Day

Today we drove to Princeton, New Jersey, which is about 50 miles southwest of Jersey City.  After quite a bit of research before we went, we found a bike trail in that area that we thought we'd like to try, giving us a chance to escape from the big city.  Also, Mark had found a blurb in the New York Times about a photography exhibition at the Princeton Art Gallery.  We parked at a shopping center and rode our bikes over to the trail, which was originally a tow path along a canal.  It was gravel, but beautifully shaded.  We rode it for about 4 miles until we got to the area of the Princeton University campus.  There we stopped at the oldest bike shop in the United States (wasn't much to speak of) before continuing on to campus.  We rode around for quite awhile looking for the art museum -- apparently Princeton doesn't believe in campus maps.  The campus is gorgeous -- lots of stately old buildings surrounded by green areas.  It looked like new student orientation was in progress; there were big groups of very young-looking people being escorted from building to building.

The art museum was amazing!  In addition to the photography exhibition, this museum has works by many of the big names:  Van Gogh, Cezanne, Rembrandt, Warhol, Georgia O'Keefe, and more.  We thought this would just be a quick stop, but the museum was so captivating that we ended up spending over an hour looking around.  By then we were hungry, so we rode our bikes back to the shopping center and ate at PF Changs.  By then, neither of us felt like any more bike riding, so we headed back to JC.  All in all, a good day.

Dan's Birthday Dinner

Dan and Natalie

We met Dan and Natalie at Cafe Mogador to celebrate Dan's 29th birthday.  This Moroccan restaurant in the East Village has terrific Moroccan food.  Tagine, which is a slow-cooked stew with meat and vegetables, is one of my favorites.  I had some tasty cinnamon ice cream for dessert.  Dan and Natalie had baklava, while Mark had the passion fruit sorbet.  Dan and Natalie met us after their dance lesson.  Mark and I stopped at Greensquare Tavern in the Flatiron District to have a beer.  Turned out to be a nice place, although a bit noisy.  

St. Mark's Place in the East Village was full of activity.  The sidewalks were packed with people, and there are lots of shops and restaurants.  And to top it off, Mark even bought a hat!

MoMA and Monkeys

Because we had borrowed Dan and Natalie's membership cards to the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) so that we could get into PS1 without paying an admission charge on Friday, we decided to go to MoMA to take advantage of free admission there.  It was a Sunday afternoon and it was PACKED!  I was glad we hadn't paid to get in, because it was really difficult to appreciate the art with all the people crammed into the galleries.

We left MoMA and walked several blocks to place that Mark had identified online as serving Estrella Daura, his favorite deglutenized beer.  The bar is called The Three Monkeys.  It turned out to be a great place -- not only did they have Estrella, but also a large selection of tap beers.

Then we headed down to the Madison Square Park area for a gluten-free pizza at Mozzarelli's.  We had been craving pizza, so it hit the spot.

Biking the East River

Mark on Randall's Island

Today we ventured over to the East Side of Manhattan for a bike ride.  On the way up (click here to see map) we left the house at 8:30 a.m. and took the PATH to 33rd Street, rode up 6th Avenue into Central Park for what we thought would be a leisurely early Saturday morning ride through the park.  Unfortunately, there was an organized running race going on, so we got off at 81st Street.  Then we rode down 86th Street and the river, to Carl Schurz Park, which we've been wanting to visit for several years now.  It's a beautiful park along the East River.  From there, we rode the bike path up to 102nd Street, where there's a pedestrian bridge to Randall's Island.  We biked around the island, which is mostly sports fields, but with a couple of parks.  There were not very many people there, and it provides a great view of Manhattan.

The return trip we rode along the bike path as much as possible, except for a stretch of about a mile where we rode the streets (with a couple of hills!)  By this time it was late morning and the path was getting crowded, especially around the South Street Seaport area.  Then we biked across lower Manhattan over to the World Trade Center PATH station and home to Jersey City.  The ride was about 22 miles, and we finally got to bike the East River!

Queens 'n' Art

Once again we traveled to Queens.  This time we went to Long Island City to visit Socrates Sculpture Park, the Noguchi Museum, and MoMAs PS1.  We first stopped at the sculpture park, which was a disappointment.  A large part of the park was closed off due to construction, and the part that remained open had sculptures made out of trash by students.  The park itself seemed geared toward school groups.  We then walked several blocks to the Noguchi Museum.

Isamu Noguchi (1904–1988) was one of the twentieth century’s most important and critically acclaimed sculptors.  Through a lifetime of artistic experimentation, he created sculptures, gardens, furniture and lighting designs, ceramics, architecture, and set designs.  His work, at once subtle and bold, traditional and modern, set a new standard for the reintegration of the arts.  Noguchi, an internationalist, traveled extensively throughout his life.  (In his later years he maintained studios both in Japan and New York.)  He discovered the impact of large-scale public works in Mexico, earthy ceramics and tranquil gardens in Japan, subtle ink-brush techniques in China, and the purity of marble in Italy.  He incorporated all of these impressions into his work, which utilized a wide range of materials, including stainless steel, marble, cast iron, balsawood, bronze, sheet aluminum, basalt, granite, and water.  aterials—are still being produced today.  In 1985 Noguchi opened The Isamu Noguchi Garden Museum (now known as The Noguchi Museum), in Long Island City, New York.  The Museum, established and designed by the artist, marked the culmination of his commitment to public spaces.  Located in a 1920s industrial building across the street from where the artist had established a studio in 1960, it has a serene outdoor sculpture garden, and many galleries that display Noguchi’s work, along with photographs and models from his career.  Not only are Noguchi's works spectacular, but the museum itself is beautiful.

We then walked the 12 blocks back to the subway to get to the area where MoMA's PS1 is located.  We had read on the Internet that the Burger Garage restaurant served gluten-free hamburgers and french fries.  We were eagerly anticipating this as it is very difficult to find a place that serves a hamburger on a gluten-free bun.  BUT BUMMER!  They were OUT OFF GLUTEN-FREE BUNS!  So I had a gluten burger and we split the fries.

Then we went to PS1.  This old public school (hence the name) is devoted to "cutting edge" modern art.  Unfortunately, almost the entire space was devoted to videos, which are not really something we appreciate.

Mary and Mark with a Manhattan in Manhattan

The next leg of journey took us to Union Square in Manhattan.  I sat in the park while Mark went to Whole Foods and Trader Joe's.  Then we walked over to the Village to Buvette for a truly outstanding Manhattan.  A very full and fulfilling day.

Julia and her Grandparents

Mark Brauer, Julia Brauer, Mary Brauer, Lynn Phelps, Glenn Phelps

We spent a nice, relaxing day with Lynn and Glenn.  Went to see Sing Sing prison (the outside) and went for several walks.  John, Nancy and Julia joined us for the afternoon.  It was wonderful to all be together.

Westchester-Putnam Bike Trail

Westchester-Putnam Bike Trail

We put the bikes on the car and drove north about 50 miles to Yorktown Heights and rode a beautiful paved bike trail.  It was mostly flat and shaded by tall trees.  It was really green, quiet and peaceful.  It had rained that morning and the moisture was still in the air.  We rode about 15 miles; 2-1/2 of them were on the road to the great little bar/restaurant we stopped at: Healy's Corner Bar.  They had Mark's favorite gluten-free beer, Estrella Daura, and made fried foods in a special fryer for people with Celiac Disease.  So we had chicken wings, french fries and nachos for lunch, accompanied by several beers.  Then road back to the car -- it was slightly downhill on the way back.

From there we drove to Lynn and Glenn Phelps home in Croton-on-Hudson.  We sat on the porch and watched a storm blow in, and then headed to White Plains for a dinner at Legal Seafoods.  We had wood-fire grilled fish.  On the way there and back, we had to take several detours because of tree branches down from the storm.  

We spent the night in their guest room.  It was the first quiet, comfortable night's sleep I've had since we've been out here.  It was wonderful.

Dan and Natalie's Summer Birthday Bash

Natalie and Dan have birthdays about one month apart, so they hold a birthday party for both of them in the park across the street from their apartment in Inwood.  They had a wonderful selection of beer and snacks, and offered Bocce and Frisbee for activities.  Mark and I met two of their friends (Dave and Tim) in Battery Park City and rode up the Hudson River Greenway from one end of Manhattan to the other.  The ride started out hot, and then got really windy as a storm blew in.  Around 125th Street, the trail was closed, so we had to ride on streets the rest of the way up to 218th Street.  There are some STEEP hills around there.  We also got rained on for awhile, but we pulled over under some trees so didn't get too wet.  It was a pretty grueling ride for me, but Mark says he wants to do it again before we leave.  Maybe if it isn't a hot, windy, stormy day ...?

Hot Hot Hot

105 degrees

So it's been a hot weekend.  This picture was taken in the garden of our apartment building on Friday, July 22 when it was 105 degrees.  It was quite the experience.  The wind was hot, and heat radiated from the sidewalks.  Friday morning, we rode our bikes to Liberty State Park and around the trails.  It was an 11 mile ride and it took us over an hour.  It was already 90 degrees by 10 a.m.

On Saturday, the forecast was for 100 degrees, so we decided it would be a good day for a museum.  We've been wanting to go to the Whitney for some time, so we took the PATH to World Trade Center and walked over a few blocks to catch the #4 Subway.  Well, it was packed with fans heading to the Yankees game in the Bronx!  Went to the Whitney -- some of the exhibitions were a bit too "out there" for my taste, but I liked the permanent collection.  Unfortunately, my knee was bothering me so we only stayed a little over an hour.

Then we headed down to Union Square to go to L'Annam, a Vietnamese restaurant that has a gluten-free menu.   Mark is the designated "stir fry" chef in our house, so it's a treat for him to have someone else make it!  Then we stopped at the Union Square Farmers Market and bought some fresh tomatoes -- YUM.  By this time (mid-afternoon) it was pretty darn hot in Manhattan, so we headed back to New Jersey for some rest and frozen margaritas.